Durham is new home for collaboration solutions provider Avaya’s corporate HQ

Date Published:

DURHAM – You may not have heard about this news but it’s significant even if overlooked: Avaya, a publicly traded cloud-based communications and collaborations solution provider, recently relocated its corporate headquarters to Durham where it has had an office for more than a decade.

Avaya moved its HQ to 2605 Meridian Parkway from Santa Clara, Calif. but is maintaing a presence in Silicon Valley, the firm announced earlier this month.

The name may be familiar to many since Avaya which absorbed some former Nortel business operations. Avaya was formed nearly 20 years ago, spun off by Lucent.

“For over a decade, Raleigh-Durham has been a key corporate location for Avaya with functions including executive offices, solutions and technology, operations, procurement, information technology, support and services and administration located here,” wrote Hardy Myers, Senior Vice President for Strategy & Business Development at Avaya, in a blog post.

Avaya (NYSE: AVYA) has more than 8,000 employees and has a market cap of some $1.5 billion.

“Raleigh-Durham is already a key hub for Avaya and is ideally located to support our 8,000+ employees worldwide. Raleigh-Durham is also part of the Research Triangle which has a rich history as an innovation hub. We are proud to be a part of this vibrant technology community.”

However, Avaya is not abandoning California.

“We continue to maintain and invest in a strong presence in Silicon Valley. In fact, we are relocating to new offices in San Jose, CA next month. The San Jose location will also include a new Customer Experience Center (CEC), and the team there will continue to include solutions and technology, sales and marketing and other functions.”

Jim Chirico is President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, taking over as CEO in October 2017 after serving as chief operating officer and Global Sales Leader.

Myers noted that the firm is attempting to capitalize on demand for remote workforce opportunities.

“Similar to our global customer base, we are planning for an increasingly work from anywhere employee population, empowered to engage, collaborate and bring innovations to market from all around the world,” Myers wrote.

THE WFH PUSH

“Your business wants to make every experience as seamless and connected as possible,” Avaya says at its website. “So employee collaboration is easier and more efficient, and customer satisfaction is higher. Avaya solutions make it happen.”

That belief iin connections is supported in a new survey from Avaya that found companies are embracing work-from-home (WFH) as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on.

“As businesses continue to adapt their operational models in response to health concerns and economic upheaval, being able to collaborate and engage from anywhere is increasingly seen as the critical mechanism for staying connected to customers, driving better customer experiences and increasing loyalty,” said Simon Harrison, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, about th survey.

“This is no longer optional, but has become mandatory. We continue to accelerate innovation in these critical areas, increasingly applying advanced technology like AI and machine learning to improve human experiences and engagement, and we are partnering with industry leaders such as Google and NVIDIA on leveraging AI to reimagine the collaboration and communications experience.”

Editor’s note: The Skinny blog is written by Rick Smith, editor and cofounder of WRAL TechWire.

Original Article Source: WRAL TechWire